The Evangelical Union was a 19th-century religious denomination which originated in the suspension of the
Rev. James Morison, minister of a presbyterian
United Secession congregation in
Kilmarnock, Scotland, for certain views regarding faith, the work of the
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
in salvation, and the extent of the atonement, which were regarded by the supreme court of his church as anti-
Calvinistic
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...
and heretical.
It professed a creed which allowed them greater freedom as preachers of the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
.
Morison was suspended by the presbytery in 1841 after publishing in the previous year a pamphlet entitled ''The Question, 'What must I do to be saved?' Answered'' under the pseudonym Philanthropos, and soon withdrew from the United Secession Church. His father, who was minister at
Bathgate
Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...
, and two other ministers, were deposed not long afterwards for similar opinions. The four met at Kilmarnock on 16 May 1843 (two days before the
Disruption of the Free Church), and, on the basis of certain doctrinal principles, formed themselves into an association under the name of the Evangelical Union, for the purpose of countenancing, counselling and otherwise aiding one another, and also for the purpose of training up spiritual and devoted young men to carry forward the work and pleasure of the Lord.
The doctrinal views of the new denomination gradually assumed a more decidedly anti-Calvinistic form, and they began also to find many sympathizers among the
Congregationalists of Scotland. Nine students were expelled from the Congregational Academy for holding Morisonian doctrines, and in 1845 eight churches were disjoined from the Congregational Union of Scotland and formed a connection with the Evangelical Union.
The Union exercised no jurisdiction over the individual churches connected with it, and in this respect adhered to the Independent or Congregational form of church government; but those congregations which originally were Presbyterian vested their government in a body of elders. In 1889 the denomination numbered 93 churches; and in 1896, after prolonged negotiation, the Evangelical Union was incorporated with the
Congregational Union of Scotland.
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...
was a lay preacher for the Evangelical Union; he converted to Christianity in 1897 and considered himself to be a
Christian Socialist
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...
: "I have said, both in writing and from the platform many times, that the impetus which drove me first into the Labour movement, and the inspiration which has carried me on in it, has been derived more from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth than from all other sources combined."
Eric Liddell
Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprint (running), sprinter, Rugby union, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Qing dynasty, Tianjin, China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended bo ...
, a famous Olympian and missionary, was involved with this group.
See also
*
Morisonianism
References
Authorities
*''The Evangelical Union Annual''
*''History of the Evangelical Union'', by F Ferguson (Glasgow, 1876)
*''The Worthies of the EU'' (1883)
*W Adamson, ''Life of Dr James Morison'' (1898)
{{Scottish religion
History of Christianity in Scotland
Congregational organizations established in the 19th century
19th century in Scotland